AN: This chapter was written with the help of Elephant who has been a consistent editor on this project. It is a summary of The Magician's Assistant so if you have read that feel free to skip.
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An excerpt from "The Magician's Rebellion: An Unpublished Account of the RAMS Rebellion and the Political Battle that Shook Magical Britain" by Bellamy Blake
The details surrounding the RAMS rebellion and the political upheaval that reshaped magical Britain have been a topic of great debate for many years. The truth behind the historic occurrences that rocked magical Britain is far more complicated than anyone outside of those sworn to secrecy know. Before I continue, I would like to note that though I know this work can never be published while any who took the oath of Hera to guarantee loyalty to the rebellion are still alive; I believe that it is important that there be a recording of how events actually transpired. As a historian, it is my hope that someday a faithful and unvarnished record of how events actually transpired can be presented. For now, however it is simply the recollections of an old man.
My years at Hogwarts as a student were a time of much turmoil in Magical Britain. Wells Jaha was killed at the age of sixteen by a muggleborn named Charlotte during the spring of 1998. Prejudice and systematic abuse of muggleborns, squibs, magical creatures, and to a lesser extent half-bloods was at an all-time high with discriminatory laws being passed in the wake of the tragedy. Resentment and rage was building in the lower class and an eventual boiling over was inevitable. It seemed that the death of Minister of Magic candidate Jacob Griffin six years earlier had not only ended the hope of a peaceful transition to a more equal society but also meant a return to a system set on shrinking the rights of some of its magical citizens. It was a system ripe for revolt. If not for the brutal and utter destruction of the Trikru rebellion years earlier, fear would have been unable to keep the people cowed.
It was during this time that the seeds of rebellion took root. Over the years, there have been many questions about how the RAMS rebellion began. In the fall of 1998, after a summer full of rushed legal changes to restrict the 'lesser' bloods, I wished to make someone pay. The bullying at Hogwarts was out of control and as a young boy turning into a man I aimed my rage and helplessness at the closest target. Looking back, it was remarkably foolish of me but my friends and I in Gryffindor decided to prank the bullies and fight back against them. The problem was that our pranks were vindictive and indiscriminate of target. They not only failed to deter the bullying but actually increased the viciousness of the bullies as they retaliated. It was in this chaos that I first interacted with Clarke Griffin properly.
Now I'm sure you've read a great deal about Lady Griffin and her many political exploits and influence on modern quidditch. However, when I met her, she was the symbol of a system I hated and I was sure she was just another pampered princess. She was a pureblood, head girl, Slytherin, wealthy, and part of the most elite of the social elite. Clarke approached me and an uneasy alliance was formed despite my assumptions. She would use her position to pass along information and oversee detentions to mitigate the repercussions our actions, if we agreed to go to her for approval of our pranks. Overall her assistance led to our actions being effective and more organized.
The alliance did not become a true partnership until tragedy and desperation acted as a crucible. One of the most powerful and prolific forces for prejudice in the school at the time was Professor Shumway, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. On a night that would change school children into rebels against an unjust system, Shumway decided to pull one of his usual tricks. He approached a young student intent on getting them into detention with him. A detention where he was known to use harsh punishments unfit for children. My sister, Octavia, got in his way and received the detention instead. Atom Jones witnessed the events and rushed to inform me that Shumway had my sister. Knowing from personal experience that Shumway had been giving progressively harsher detentions to those he suspected to be involved in the counter-offensive against bullying, I raced with a group of my friends to interrupt the detention. There was no plan, only a panicked determination to save my sister.
We blew open the door to Shumway's classroom. The crash of the door interrupted Shumway forcing Octavia to write lines with a blood quill. Shumway responded with deadly force to the interruption casting a wasting curse that hit Atom. I returned fire with an over-powered banishing charm. Shumway died upon impacting the wall and with Atom was dying of a deadly curse that none of us knew how to counter we were paralyzed. That was when Clarke arrived, having been summoned by Zoe Monroe, who had realized she might be needed and gone for her instead of joining our foolhardy rush.
Griffin quickly realized that there was nothing that could be done for Atom and eased his passing. With two people dead, it was clear that we would be lucky if any of us escaped Azkaban. Clarke took control of the shocked group. She came up with a plan and instructed us about how to take care of the bodies and told us she would take care of things with Headmistress Sydney. In a daring move, Clarke blackmailed the headmistress, Diana Sydney, into making an unbreakable oath to her that forced her to help us to hide the deaths of Atom and Shumway.
This tragedy and crossroads in our lives is what brought Clarke and I together into a true partnership. Together with those involved, we decided that playing pranks against bullies at school was not enough. We could either remain children pulling pranks, wading in the shallows, or work to expand our efforts and effect a broader change. We decided that we needed to change magical Britain as a whole. We would not let Atom's death be in vain. To ensure the loyalty of those involved and prevent betrayal, all the members of the new rebellion agreed to swear an oath of Hera. An oath which sacrificed a portion of our free will so we could never betray the cause or each other. We began to plan a true revolt against the government now that we were united to a common goal.
Knowing that changing things inside the school was the first step in changing the rest of magical Britain, we stepped up our efforts to prevent bullying and started recruiting within the school. Using her influence with Sydney, Clarke set-up a tutoring system. She hoped the tutoring system would allow tutors to mentor younger students and mitigate the power of the teachers. Mentors would have the power to assign points and oversee detentions in the place of teachers. Thus reducing the power teachers had to bully their students. There would never be another Shumway at Hogwarts. It also provided them with an avenue for training our members in the more advanced magic and methods they would need as rebels.
Over Christmas break, Clarke, having come of age and taken the requisite NEWTS, took control of her family seat on the Wizengamot. Instead of joining one of the established parties, Clarke created a new party of her own called the Latrocinium in a move that shocked the political world.
The plan was two-fold. 1) The RAMS (Respect for All Magical Sentients) Rebellion, led by me, would undermine the social acceptance of the status quo by engaging in well targeted pranks highlighting the injustices of the current system. This would undercut the political approval the current parties enjoy. 2) The Latrocinium political party established by Clarke would begin changing laws and gaining control of the Wizengamot.
Clarke, who always loved a good analogy, said the RAMS Rebellion would serve the role of The Magician whose distraction and sleight-of-hand would provide cover for The Magician's Assistant, the Latrocinium party, to slyly pull off the heart of The Trick. I guess that makes me The Magician.
Not everyone was happy with the changes occurring in the school however. Dax Trip had been close to Shumway and would have become the man's apprentice after graduation. He was also head boy and a horrid bully. With Shumway gone Dax refused to accept both his absence and the changes that were becoming widespread throughout the school at that time. The stress and what I believe was grief pushed him into drastic action. He was convinced that both myself and Clarke had something to do with Shumway's disappearance. He ambushed me outside of Charms and after stunning me intended to interrogate me for answers. Clarke found me before he could seriously cause harm and a battle occurred. During the fight, Dax was killed.
We knew of course that as the son of a squib prostitute that I would be pinned for the death regardless of the fact I had neither started it nor cast the final blow. Clarke came up with a cover story that would lead the aurors and those in power to want to cover up the events while also making my involvement seem accidental. Among the aurors summoned who investigated the case was Lexa Trikru. We didn't know at the time but she noticed several inconsistencies in our stories and the evidence. Still, due to the political pressure of her superiors she kept her suspicions to herself and investigated on her own time.
With the death of Dax, we knew we couldn't isolate our actions to the school any longer. It was time to advance our plans. We began to do this by recruiting people who weren't fellow school children. Though we had already recruited the squib Murphy to help us in the black market, we also needed influence in the political world. So, we recruited Clarke's godmother, Callie Cartwig of the Purist political party and she took the oath. Students made up almost the entirety of our rebellion at this point. So it made sense to recruit among the teachers. Professor Miller our new Defense professor and Healer Jackson our school healer were valuable converts to the cause. We had about reached the limits of what we could accomplish while underground. It was time for us to act publicly. With this in mind, we staged the now famous interruption of Minister Jaha's address. We hoped to gain a foothold in the wider world and an air of legitimacy we did not have before that would help us recruit adults. So, in the late winter of 1999 we gave the call to action to magical Britain and declared a non-violent war on the system and government of our time.